You Had Better Things to Do
by PamsterHamster
Summary: This story is set before Lewis is visited by Wilbur and gets a glimpse of his future (pre-movie). What happens when Franny's best friend misses out on her birthday? What could possibly happen on such a glorious day? Rated T for sexual innuendo! This is meant to be an innocent one-shot. C:


Francesca was just turning fifteen today! Goodness, already her family was scattered about the house. They were your typical Italians: sharp, enthusiastic and ever so nimble. She giggled as a celebratory meatball flew over her head and hit the wall. Her brother was at it again! He was such a little rebel. What if mother and father found out he was fiddling with his cannon again? They didn't exactly approve of his antics, and Art was already whipping out his comic books, thinking himself the normal one of the siblings. Which, of course, wasn't true at all. He was probably getting ideas on what to do for her while observing the colorful panels of _Superman_.

"Gaston," she whispered in a giggle, "you're going to get in trouble with mama and papa if you don't put that away!" Gaston, wearing one of his many eccentric grins, merely waved off her claim.

"C'mon, baby sister! Lighten up and give me a hand with the sausage, will ya? It's a little on the heavy side." He said.

"That's not what she said last night, Gaston," Art said dramatically, implying a very mature insult.

Gaston gasped loudly. "And so it begins!"

This remark went over her head, and in an instant did Franny rush to the window to see if her parents were still up and about. Thankfully, they were just sneaking into the car with the purpose of driving off to the store to get her presents. Excited, she thought she could invite Lewis over. Franny left her wrestling brothers and stepped out of the house. She headed over to her friend's place and knocked on the door quietly. Out of habit, did she brush back her hair, free from the ribbon she usually wore, with a most charming grin. She looked rather different from her future adult self (Wilbur would have probably screamed had he realized that she wasn't actually born with a cowlick, as women just couldn't by nature, really. The wonders of gel).

His adoptive father swung the door open, greeting her on sight. She allowed herself in, greeting him back, before rushing up the stairs where she would find Lewis tinkering with his latest invention. He was famous, and yet he remained the same and never allowed the media's praise to reduce his level of humility. She approached him from behind with a 'gotcha!', embraced him tightly before getting a startled cry out of him. She giggled, trapping him there in her arms, all in a friendly manner. He was slightly irritated that Franny, of all times, would do this. He had been so absorbed in his work! "Will you stop that please? You know I don't like it when people sneak up on me," he chided, rolling his blue eyes.

Abashed, Franny released him. "I didn't mean to startle you, Lewis," she replied gently, fidgeting with her dark locks. Her eyes snapped open as she realized what was her motive for coming here in the first place. "_Oh_! **Well**, I was _wondering_ if you'd like to," her tone was light and playful, "come over to my house? We could have so much fun!" she paced the room with her rather artsy hand gestures, explaining that she thought it would be nice spend some time with her.

He adjusted his glasses with a smile."No can do, Franny. I think I'm onto something here. If I can only properly manipulate the function of the …" his theory fell on remarkably deaf ears. She was hurt that he had forgotten her birthday. She didn't show it as she feigned interest and disguised her sadness with a weak smile. She nodded politely as he rambled on about his work.

"This is going to be quite an adventure for you, Lewis! You just go and, you know, do what you do best. Anything is possible if you set your mind to it." She said this, a pitch higher than she usually spoke. She tucked a strand behind her ear, laughing lightly.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a break?" she asked, looking about the room, twiddling her fingers. "Even a little genius like you is going to need one eventually, don't you think?"

"I'm certain, Franny," he said, not meaning to sound cold. Actually, he was saying this rather pleasantly.

"Fine! I won't bother you. But whenever you feel like coming over," she continued, seemingly unaffected by his words, "you just come over. O-Ok?" Lewis merely nodded, reaching for a crucial tool. She hated how oblivious he could be, sometimes. But she could never use it against him. It just wasn't in her nature. She bid him a rather sad-sounding goodbye and rushed back home.

By the time she made it back home, the family was all settled with a huge meal on the table. She forced on a chipper smile and voluntarily squealed. Her robust father picked her up and slapped a kiss on her cheek, for which she giggled upon feeling his thick mustache brush across her tiny face. Her mother joined in on kissing her daughter. Heck, even her brothers!

"Please, please! I just want to thank the little people," she said charismatically, as if receiving the noble prize. It was all an act, really. She was about as happy as a rock. She was put down so all could eat peacefully at the dinner table. Franny looked about the house and noticed there wasn't even a touch of green, just brown and beige hues. Now that she was oddly melancholy … she was starting to see things she had never noticed before. Her brothers weren't even allowed to mention the word 'frog'. Goodness, now that she realized this … they never even bought her _The Muppets_ series when she was just a toddler. She always had to save up her money to get them because they contained a frog named Kermit. Her mood darkened as she sank her fork into a ripe tomato. Her parents sensed the sudden change in her and decided to skip right on to the presents. Little Franny was going to love them! They plopped down a pile of books right in front of her. The child gasped happily! Were they fairytales? Seeing them up close, her smile slowly diminished.

**How to be Normal, Music Leads to Poverty, The Truth About Frogs, Obsession Turned Deception, Don't Be Like Peter Pan - Grow Up, Do Not Embrace Your Eccentricities, Realism is Superior to Idealism, Pigs Can't Fly: No Matter How Hard They Flap Their Invisible Wings, How to Get More Friends, Idiot's Guide to Sanity, Insane in the Membrane? We Can Help!** and more. Her parents pushed some medication her way. She stared at the bottle, pressing a hand to her heart, big brown eyes glossy with incoming grief. But she didn't let the tears spill. No. The way her lithe frame trembled caused the her mother and father to worry. They thought she would be so happy! They were only trying to help her.

"I was hoping for something a little greener," she whispered, trying to sound as pleasant as possible. She covered her face in her hands, asking them all to leave in a polite manner. Her parents did as she wished, going out for a walk to reflect back on what they did (not understanding that Franny had taken their gifts as their way of saying she was insane). Gaston and Art tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't have it. They retreated to their rooms, awkwardly. She pressed her knees to her chest and finally let the tears fall. Maybe if she did take the pills she would be normal, just like the other kids at her school. Franny was about to take one out of the bottle until a voice reached her ears. It was that of a boy calling her name. Why, it was Lewis. She sighed, making her way to the door. She opened it with an uncharacteristically shady look on her face. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for missing your birthday! I forgot and -" he was interrupted by an unusual snort.

"You had better things to do," she said, tilting her head with her arms crossed. Franny took note that he had brought her a present. A softer side of the young girl took over for a split second until a negative thought presented itself. What if he got her a list of medical pills to take for her condition too? Frightened and upset, the youth took it from the palm of his hand and ripped it apart.

"What are you doing? Stop that, Franny!" he cried, never having witnessed such behavior from the normally sweet weirdo.

"You think I'm crazy too!" she screamed, tossing it into the grass, her vision blurry from the tears.

"What are you talking about?!" he exclaimed, being the reasonable one of the two.

What fell on the ground was a stuffed Kermit doll, its arms ripped clean off. She gasped loudly, covering her mouth as she backed away. What had she done? How could she have done this to him? She couldn't face her best friend. Not like this. She turned around, pinched the bridge of her nose, and took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. The blue-eyed wonder was too disturbed to speak. Franny slowly made her way to the doll and took it back in the house, bidding him a goodbye and a heartfelt 'I'm sorry'.

End of drabble! This was hard but so much fun to write!


End file.
